Road Trip
by SivanShemesh
Summary: Two troublemakers are not enough. Aragorn should have known better. Nominee for MEFA 2009


Title:Road Trip

Author: Sivan Shemesh

Beta: Aranel

Disclaimer: Tolkien is the one that owned them, I only owe the bunnies.

Rate: K+

Warning: Angst/humor, friendship/family. AU.

Summary: Two troublemakers are not enough. Aragorn should have known better.

A/N: Was supposed to be at Teitho theme – excuses, but the bunny took over, and considering RL…

* * *

1.

King Elessar was happy; his wife was chatting with Lady Éowyn while his son was playing with Faramir's son Elboron.

Aye, life was good.

The white tree was indeed a great thing to have, a beauty given by nature itself, and he appreciated it.

Aragorn sighed, letting the day fill him with a touch of happiness at being with his family, though he was still upset about the road trip he had heard Legolas and Gimli had gone off on. He smiled at that thought nonetheless; who would ever believe that these two races had turned their enmity to friendship. The war had changed it all.

Now he was wondering how Eldarion and Elboron had known where Legolas and Gimli were. If even he did not know, how would they know?

King Elessar studied Faramir, who was also watching the boys, noticing the radiant smile that showed on the steward's face.

"Faramir?" he called.

Faramir bowed immediately. Aragorn ignored it much as he wanted to tell him to dispense with it. Faramir was just like Legolas when they had first met.

Sweeping that thought to the back in his mind, he asked, "How did Eldarion know about Legolas and Gimli?"

"Oh, that was because those two passed through Rohan, and King Éomer had told me about them. I assume that Elboron told it to your son." Faramir said.

"Well, we already have too many troublemakers; I do not want our sons to join them." Aragorn expressed his thoughts.

Faramir wanted to say something but held back, knowing that the king was right, even if he just hoped to… see some action. The days were growing silent, and much as he loved to be with his family, he missed having _something else_ to occupy his time and he was certain that Aragorn was in the same boat as he was – just that he was hiding it.

Breaking the silence, Faramir took the chance to ask his friend, "Has Eldarion told you anything about those two?"

"Not much, though he is asking me to tell him more stories at bedtime, and one more story is not enough."

"What kind of stories?" Faramir asked, curious about the cause.

"About my road trips with Legolas, about adventures. Why?" Aragorn asked as he noticed the frown that crossed the steward's face.

"Because Elboron was rather asking me about Gimli and Legolas as well, and I had no stories to share, but my road trip with my brother." Faramir replied.

The king sighed heavily while he set his eyes upon the boys who were chasing each other, "We need to watch those two."

"Yes, we do." Faramir confirmed.

Not too long later, the steward and his wife retired to their room in the palace, located near the king and the queen's, while the boys had each other for company in another room, bed beside bed.

Aragorn had a bad feeling about this, but he could not figure out why. He just hoped that Legolas and Gimli were doing well.

* * *

**Two days later, at night…**

Eldarion and Elboron smiled at each other, knowing that their parents would not know about their plan, and they hope that they would not stop them, as they wanted to meet with Legolas and Gimli, and see what awaited them beyond the palace.

The boys could not wait any longer. They had been holding back for so long and every day, the desire and tension increased steadily within them. And now, they had made their choice.

The time had come for them to find out what was out there, and now with night cloaking them, they could slip out without their parents finding out.

It was their own road trip, and they would not let anyone destroy it.

After packing whatever they thought they would need, the boys left the room feeling content.

No message was left in the cold and empty room.

--

_Somewhere outside Minas Tirith…_

The boys left the palace in the shadows of the night, and they were glad the guards could not see them in the darkness, when they slipped through the large gates as some late visitors entered.

The boys sighed in relief, and then they walked until they found some shelter near the trees to finalize the plans for their road trip.

Eldarion had hoped to catch Legolas and Gimli, but in the darkness he could see no one so far. Elboron, on the other hand, was enjoying the company of his friend, and could not wait to begin his first adventure without his parents watching him.

But the cold soon gnawed at their bodies, and both of them shivered.

"I am cold," Elboron said to his friend as he went closer to him, "I want my daddy back."

Eldarion stared at his friend, hoping that they would not have to return home that quickly, as he wanted to have adventures like his father, Legolas and Gimli did, and he would not let the cold take everything from them just like that.

"Elboron," Eldarion turned toward his friend and tried to encourage him, "We can build a fire then we can be warm."

"Let's do it then."

Eldarion did what he remembered his father doing, and he left Elboron for a few minutes to gather the twigs and pith to start a fire, and then he returned to his badly shivering friend.

"Here, I think I have what I need." Eldarion told Elboron, hoping that it would cheer him up.

After a few tries, the fire started, and all Eldarion had to do was to keep it from either spreading or going out, as they needed the fire for quite a while.

"Thank you, my friend." Elboron thanked him as soon as his teeth stopped chattering.

"That's what friends are for, my friend," Eldarion said to him, as he yawned and knelt by the ground, and feeling Elboron near him. he whispered simply, "Rest, my friend; we need to gather our strength for tomorrow."

TBC…


End file.
